Life takes a brief respite and tempers itself.
Near the fortress of Driandel, the heart of the Silva Empire, there existed a laboratory not well known to the outside.
Massive roots hung from the ceiling, and beneath them, Life Cores and the Terra Empire’s Earth Cores were lined up side by side.
“For opposing attributes, they seem to harmonize strangely well……”
Researcher Elona murmured.
“As expected, soil is truly a fine resource for us to live on. If we plant our seeds here, we will grow even further, but the fertile soil will turn into a barren environment.”
Bramir, who had been watching from behind her, asked,
“How is it? Are there still no problems?”
Elona looked back at him and replied,
“Yes. I was a little worried, but it’s going well. It doesn’t seem as difficult as when we created the Slime Core.”
Bramir nodded.
“Understood. I’ll come again later.”
He turned away and let out a short sigh.
“It’s not very like us…… but for now, let’s keep going.”
Some time later, Emperor Drian and her retainers gathered once more in the secret laboratory.
“Is it finally beginning?”
When Drian asked, Elona answered with confidence.
“Yes, Your Majesty. All preparations are complete.”
She immediately attempted to fuse the two cores.
The energy of the Life Core covered the Earth Core.
Originally, as opposing attributes, soil would have its nutrients stolen by wood, but for fusion, balance had to be maintained rather than a one-sided relationship.
This time, wood sought harmony with soil.
Drian said,
“Soil accepts life, and life lives upon soil. This was a combination destined from the beginning.”
Soon, one root from the Life Core stretched across the gap between the cores, and when the tip of that root reached the Earth Core, the soil of the Earth Core also moved into the Life Core.
A moment later, a sticky yet transparent sap-like substance began to flow.
That substance wrapped around the two cores and slowly seeped inside.
At last, between the two kinds of cores, an orange-hued crystal began to rise little by little.
It was transparent, yet hundreds of layers of lines were tangled within it, possessing both the hardness of soil and the organic nature of life.
“This is it. This is our result.”
Elona said proudly.
Drian also looked at the new core and said,
“A transparent substance harder than slime, yet seeming to possess our life. This is an Amber Core.”
An orange, transparent crystal—amber.
It was the second dual-attribute core achieved by Silva’s life energy.
Immediately after the Amber Core was born, Drian moved to the location where a new barracks would be constructed.
Soon, by her hand, an Amber Barracks was built within Silva.
The newly installed structure had a wooden framework, and its exterior was covered in hard orange crystal.
“Is the method of producing soldiers the same as with slime?”
“It is.”
Beside Drian, Tarban inserted the Amber Core into the barracks.
When the core was embedded inside, the entire barracks shuddered briefly, then swayed slowly as though breathing.
Inside, sticky sap flowed from countless branches, forming a certain structure.
And the first soldier appeared.
His body was a deep orange, and though patches of soil clung to the exterior here and there, amber’s distinctive radiance shone through the gaps.
The first troop type produced from the Amber Core was called the Amber Infantry.
The Amber Infantryman slowly walked out.
A familiar yet unfamiliar form.
Silva had become able to produce soldiers not from themselves, but from a substance created by planting secretions that came from them into soil and hardening it.
“Beings halfway between our trees and soil. That is why they burrow deeper into the earth and exploit it.”
Drian spoke in a low voice.
Then Tarban also opened his mouth.
“And…… they are heavier and more tenacious than slime.”
Having acquired a considerable number of Earth Cores as a result of invading all the way to Terra’s center, Silva had enough leeway to produce additional Amber Infantrymen.
However, Drian raised one hand.
“Wait. We do not need many Amber Infantrymen immediately. Let us produce only this much for now.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
Drian turned and headed toward the fortress, and Tarban followed behind her.
The Chamber of Life inside Silva’s fortress.
Drian silently looked up at the leaves.
“Haa……”
Drian sighed, full of worry.
The leaves stretched toward Drian as though filled with curiosity.
“Was I wrong? Did I act in a way that betrayed their trust?”
The leaves quietly listened to Drian’s words.
Drian continued.
“In truth, I was following the laws of the world. Just as water raises wood, wood raises fire. Can this be called wrong?”
The leaves trembled faintly.
Drian looked down with a somewhat sorrowful expression.
“Above all else, the forest comes first for us. Only when we exist whole can we help others. We may need some time, for a while.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she left the Chamber of Life.
Drian and her two retainers gathered in the Garden of Council.
“Has there been no word from Aqua?”
When Drian asked, Bramir answered,
“Yes. It seems there has still been no word at all. That silence itself must be directed toward us.”
Drian briefly closed her eyes, then opened them again.
“It seems their flow and our growth have fallen out of alignment.”
Tarban spoke from beside her.
“It was an alliance we began together, but even if the currents have split, we cannot forcibly hold onto that flow.”
Drian looked at the Amber Core placed to one side, then soon turned her gaze away.
“We possess a new core, but this may instead widen the distance between us and them.”
Tarban also looked back at the Amber Core and asked,
“Is there no way to share that Amber Core with Aqua?”
Bramir shook his head.
“No. The Amber Core is the fusion of wood and soil energy. Aqua’s energy is not part of it. Even if they possessed the Amber Core, they would not be able to use it.”
“I see.”
Tarban, lost in thought for a moment, opened his mouth again.
“Moreover, since the soil energy inside the Amber Core might threaten Aqua, our independent research could invite misunderstanding if we are not careful. They might see it as preparation to distance ourselves from them……”
“That is likely the limitation of dual-attribute cores.”
Drian spoke to them.
“Dual-attribute cores essentially have the strength of being able to keep at least two kinds of energy in check. But if the remaining energy checks the very energy we wish to restrain, then it is not particularly effective. Amber Infantry are certainly slightly stronger than Slime Infantry, but that does not mean they can fight better against Terra.”
The Slime Core was a fusion of wood and water energy, while the Amber Core was a fusion of wood and soil energy.
Since soil overwhelms water, amber may be stronger than slime, but in battle against Terra, slime, which possesses water energy capable of using a mutually supportive relationship, has a higher chance of victory.
Bramir spoke in a subdued voice.
“Producing Amber Infantry does not seem to hold much meaning. It may be better to train Forest Warriors with our cores.”
“At least for us, that is so. It would be best to be satisfied that we have secured the Amber Core first.”
The Amber Core, containing the energies of wood and soil, could be controlled only by Silva and Terra.
If the Amber Core had fallen into Terra’s hands, the situation would have become far more serious.
Tarban spoke again.
“In the end, it seems we must still rely on the Slime Core for now. But Aqua has currently stopped supplying their Wave Cores. It seems they have chosen an independent flow rather than growing together with us.”
Drian slowly nodded and said,
“From their standpoint, it must have been unavoidable. While all of us were engrossed in dual-attribute cores, the center slowly expanded its territory. That is why they were able to remain intact even after we reached their very center. Aqua merely felt threatened by Terra and decided to condense inward.”
She rose and walked as she continued speaking.
“Now we, Silva, will also keep some distance from Aqua for a while. We will be neither enemies nor allies.”
Bramir looked back at her.
“You have chosen to grow on your own?”
“I have.”
Drian did not look outside.
Her gaze was turned toward the forest.
“Terra is not the only center. For us, this place is the center. Aqua, too, grew from their own center. Each of us will return to our own center and grow from there. If our center becomes firm once more, we will no longer need Ignis’s help, and we will be able to move forward in the proper direction again.”
Drian’s statement was like a declaration that she would grow with herself as the center.
Her retainers said nothing.
But they knew what Drian intended to do next.
Around the fortress of Driandel.
The fortress was already growing like a living organism.
And Drian sought to grow her fortress by one more stage.
Drian placed both hands on the central stem of the fortress.
Tarban and Bramir watched her from behind.
“From now on, this forest will go one level deeper inward.”
A low sound echoed from the depths of the fortress.
The roots that had been still dug deep into the ground once more, and above, branches tangled together like structures, forming a protective layer.
Vines stretched out across the outer walls and wrapped around the fortress, while even more leaves spread widely to cover the sky.
“Fortress growth to Stage Four complete.”
Drian quietly declared.
Tarban and Bramir, as well as the citizens, stopped before the new fortress.
“It is truly majestic.”
“It feels as though vitality is returning to the nation.”
“Just looking at it makes me feel healed.”
Silva was once again regaining their true form.
It was not simply a matter of feeling.
In truth, the fortress’s roots were supplying vitality to all the forested regions surrounding the fortress.
“We should have done this sooner.”
Drian said as she looked at the tranquil fortress.
“Our Life Cores will now be produced in far greater numbers.”
“Ah, is that so?”
Tarban asked in surprise.
“Yes. Though we consumed a large number of the cores we possessed in growing the fortress, they will recover before long. This is the power of life. We help one another and grow together among ourselves.”
Tarban and Bramir smiled for the first time in a while.
It seemed the forest destroyed by Metallum would soon grow again as well.
On the other hand, the noise from metal had recently diminished.
They seemed to have arrived at some sort of conviction.
The power of the Iron Ore Core following the Crystal Core had made their structure even more solid.
Oruma was smiling soundlessly.
“The world is turning well. The structure and order we have pursued will soon rule the world.”
His tone carried the ease of one who no longer cared about the eyes around him.